Presently, 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) production processes begin with the hydroformylation of propylene to form a mixture of intermediate aldehydes, n-butanal (n-butyraldehyde) and isobutanal (isobutyraldehyde). The n-butanal stream is separated and then passed into an aldol condensation reactor to convert the n-butanal into 2 ethylpropyl acrolein (EPA), while the isobutanal is often burned off or removed as a by-product stream. The EPA stream is then passed to a hydrogenation reactor to form 2-ethylhexanol. On the other hand, the isobutanal stream may be hydrogenated in a separate hydrogenation reactor to produce isobutanol. Likewise, n-butanol producers hydrogenate the n-butanal stream in a separate hydrogenation reactor to produce n-butanol.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide an integrated process and system that can utilize one hydrogenation reactor to simultaneously produce n-butanol, isobutanol, and 2-EH, and thereby maximize utilization of equipment and minimize capital expenditure. Additionally, it would also be beneficial to provide methods and systems that are able to use low value, by-product streams to produce high value products. These and other advantages are provided by various aspects of the present disclosure.